Overview & Reviews

Kia Motors is a South Korean automaker that's relatively new to the United States. In its early years, Kia largely catered to budget-minded consumers with well-equipped vehicles priced below competing models. More recently, this growing brand has kept value a priority while also emphasizing technology and sportiness.

Founded in Korea in 1944, Kia started as a producer of steel tubing and bicycle parts. The company's name has its roots in the Chinese language, and means "to arise, to come up out of Asia." By the early 1950s, the company had produced Korea's first bicycle; by the latter part of the decade, Kia had branched out into motor scooters, with the rollout of the C100.

The 1960s saw Kia expanding its lineup to include motorcycles and three-wheeled cargo vehicles. Naturally, the next logical step was automobile production, and the company began moving in this direction in the early 1970s. By 1973, Kia had built a facility designed to make its automotive dreams a reality; its Sohari plant held the distinction of being Korea's first fully integrated automobile production facility, and went on to spawn Korea's first internal-combustion gasoline engine. A year later, Kia unveiled the Brisa, Korea's first passenger car. By the end of the decade, Kia's technology was being used to manufacture vehicles like the Peugeot 604 and the Fiat 132.

By the late '80s, Kia's lineup included new models like the Concord, Capital, Potentia and Pride. In 1987, Ford brought the Pride to U.S. shores, rebadging it as the Ford Festiva. Seven years later, Ford dealers got a replacement for the entry-level, subcompact Festiva in the form of another Kia constructed product, the Aspire.

Kia finally began selling vehicles in the U.S. under its own name in the early '90s, trumpeting its presence with the introduction of the compact Sephia. The car's rollout was gradual; in the early days of its production, the Sephia was only available in select Western states. By the mid-'90s, SUVs had emerged as a phenomenally popular and profitable vehicle segment. Kia responded with the 1995 Sportage, a compact SUV. By the end of the '90s, Kia's nationwide rollout was nearly complete.

Financial difficulties in the late '90s prevented Kia from expanding its lineup beyond those two models. Hyundai, South Korea's other major automaker, acquired the company in a merger in 1998.

Kia has been on a major upswing since its purchase by Hyundai, with improvements in build quality, performance and overall refinement. Reliability, previously a weak point, has also improved markedly and consumers' confidence was further bolstered by Kia's substantial warranty program. Today, Kia is on a dramatic upswing and offers a broad lineup of well-built coupes, sedans and crossovers that stand out for their value, performance and sporty styling.

User Reviews:

• 

  Luxury for less - 2005 Kia Amanti
  By lailani - September 30 - 8:53 pm

  I traded in my Mazda Miata convertible for something more safe at the urging of my over- protective mother and sister. I drive almost constantly, so it was a good idea after all. I bought the Amanti with 13,000 miles on it almost 3 1/2 years ago and it now has 106,000 miles. I have only had to perform regular maintenance on the car. It has taken me all over the western states in super comfort and I proved the safety of the car in a minor accident. Someone crashed into me while I was at a stoplight and I kind of cocked my head to the side and said... did someone just hit me? It felt like a minor bump to me, but ended up crunching the other car pretty well.

• 

  Sweeeeeeet Vehicle - 2011 Kia Sorento
  By guppee - September 30 - 2:59 pm

  Purchased Sorento SX AWD in Ebony Blk to replace 06 Sportage EX AWD. Had no problems w/ Sportage, but wanted something a little roomier.So far,(1800 mi.),decision was GREAT! Getting 2 MPG better overall with Sorento than smaller Sportage and performance is far better. Some other reviews of EX and LX models complain of harsh/stiff ride, but the DFD shocks on SX must take care of that, as ride/handling is terrific. Very good value,as any comparable vehicles with same equipment/features run $6--8k more.

• 

  rental - 2009 Kia Rondo
  By majajh - September 30 - 8:13 am

  Good little car I rented. Only problem is wind noise, and struggles in mountainous areas.

• 

  Sorento Rocks - 2003 Kia Sorento
  By James Bender - September 30 - 2:00 am

  We love our Sorento!!! Just bought it loaded out except for the Luxury package. It has the looks of the Lexus, great power, and so much more room than the lexus.

• 

  excelent - 2003 Kia Sorento
  By tony lucas - September 30 - 2:00 am

  I love this korean suv, because it is a really affordable luxury vehicle. Looks like a Lexus, but a half the price. extended warranty is very important

• 

  So far so good - 2003 Kia Sorento
  By Placeman - September 30 - 2:00 am

  Im very happy with my decision to buy the Sorento. The fit and finish is very Honda-ish, without the price. I did have a power lock relay break the day I picked it up. I believe it was blown before I picked it up though. Either way, my new Sorento spent its first night in the shop. Oh well. I just hope that this is not a premonition of what is to come.

• 

  fun to drive, excellent rear headroom - 2006 Kia Spectra
  By Tim - September 30 - 1:50 am

  With the manual transmission, the Spectra5 is a fun car to drive, with decent acceleration & handling. (I thought the automatic was a little underpowered; maybe it just needed to be shifted into Low sometimes. But isnt the point of an automatic to do that automatically?) I ended up with power windows/locks (std), side air bags (std), ABS (opt), and sunroof (opt) for $1000 less than Id have gotten another car for -- without those features. Its amazing how many cars I ruled out because of too little rear headroom (my son & I are both >6); we both easily fit in the back of the Spectra5. (The headroom in the Spectra is the same, but I wanted something other than a basic 4-door sedan).

• 

  Poor - 2004 Kia Sorento
  By Jeannie Benson - September 28 - 7:56 pm

  I am very unhappy with my 2004 Kia Sorento First the water overflow tank went bad, both sides of the front end had to be replaced, multiple sensors. the head lights and tails lights continually go out. We have had to get the air charge the last 3 years and now it doesnt work at all and I still owe 3 months worth. Cant wait to be done with this lemon!

• 

  Arizona dreaming - 2005 Kia Sorento
  By AZscout - September 27 - 2:26 pm

  Sports car that can go offroad, Arizona does run out of roads, The Sorento is great in the city but offroad even better. Runs great.

• 

  Great Car! - 2007 Kia Optima
  By Happy Owner - September 26 - 12:06 pm

  Were such a great buy we bought two! The equipment for the price was unbelievable! Nice, solid fun to drive car. Have had both for a little over 2 years. Never had any mechanical problems with either one. MPG is the only downfall I found. Mine only averaged 18 mpg. The other one is better averaging 25. Probably my fault and the way I drive. Fixed that problem though. Traded mine in for a 2010 Kia Forte. So far so good. 27.6 mpg with the first fill up. But a totally different car. Resale price isnt that good so if you are looking to keep a great car for a long time the Optima is a good bet. As long as Kia is making good quality cars I will probably stay loyal!